Why is it called 'Pandoro'?

If you are speaking about the best of Italian Christmas sweets, your list is incomplete without the mentioning of the Pandoro. This traditional Italian Christmas sweet from Verona is made from sweet yeast bread and has a unique shape of a frustum with icing on the top. The cavity of the pandoro is often filled with cantilly creame or gelato making it all the more special.

Now if you are thinking on why this premium Italian Christmas sweet bread is called ‘Pandoro’ its worth diving a bit deeper into its historical roots. Italy is a country which has maintained its rich heritage through its variety of traditional products which have been maintained along the generations. Pandoro is no exception to this trend. So, here are a few stories or myths that are typically associated with pandoro.

Pandoro is popularly considered as a product of the ancient art of bread-making. Historical evidences show that pandoro is used to be the luxurious staple of only the rich and affluent while the poor used to thrive on the black bread. Keeping in line with tastes of its premium consumer base, these luxury breads were enriched with eggs, butter, sugar or honey used to be served only in the palaces and were often referred to as “royal bread” or “golden bread”-hence the name Pan d'oro ("golden bread") !

Turin and Rome are considered to be the Italian cities where the earliest evidences of the consumption of pandoro were found. Pandoro was made only by the expert bakers who used traditional techniques and only the finest of ingredients to ensure that the product reaching its elite customers was of the most premium quality.

If the previous historical references about pandoro were with regard to luxury bread, the first evidences of pandoro as a sweet was found in the eighteenth century among the Venetian aristocracy. Considering that sugar is one of the core ingredients of the pandoro, this is very much consistent with the positioning of Venice as the hub of finest quality of spices and sugar.

On Oct 30 , 1894 Domenico Melegatti obtained a patent for the industrial production of pandoro, which is the form we see it today. This was the result of centuries of traditional practice of making this special luxury bread and continually improving the process all this time.

If you are now all thrilled by the historical roots of pandoro and would like to add it to your Christmas celebrations this season, you should look for a credible online Italian deli. These niche online retailers not only stock premium quality Italian products but also deliver them right to your doorstep at your convenience. This way you are right on track to make sure that Christmas is the Christmas of Pandoro!

If you are in London and looking for the best quality Panettone, you must visit www.nifeislife.com . This online deli offers more than 800 authentic Italian products that Pandoro, include the cheeses , ham , pasta , sauces just to name a few at the most affordable prices !

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Julia Bennet